340°

Adam Sessler on Game Reviews, New Games Media, and X-Play

On this week's episode, former co-host of G4’s X-Play and the current president of TheoryHead, Adam Sessler, joins host Josiah Renaudin to talk about the new games media landscape. They cover modern game reviews, how we talk about games, the importance of sites like Waypoint, how X-Play was done from episode to episode, the brilliance of Horizon: Zero Dawn's design, and what Adam's up to now.

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MONOLITHICIDE2982d ago

i prefer extended play and tech tv haha.

OldGuyStillGaming2982d ago

F this clown
He ruined God of War Acension because he's easily offended and sucked at playing it so they had to dumb it down for his sappy ass.

TheUndertaker852982d ago (Edited 2982d ago )

Uh...

Sony Santa Monica develops the game while Sony publishes.

If it was dumbed down it was by those two parties. Stating that they changed the game due to one individual is asinine as either

1) Sony Santa Monica and Sony then gave into the supposed demands of one individual and altered the game
2) Sony Santa Monica and Sony dumbed down the game based on their own opinion
Or 3) Sony Santa Monica and Sony wanted to push multiplayer with God of War Ascension then dumbed down the game to get individuals into the multiplayer with the micro transactions they introduced with the same title.

Either way it didn't come down to Sessler. He wasn't directly creating the game, publishing the game, or even involved outside of critique.🙂

Lionheart3772982d ago

That's not how video game development works, dude.

Fullmetalevolust2982d ago

I don't think his sphere of influence can impact a game and its development. However, he has made some statements I do not agree with but it doesn't take away that Xplay was fun to watch. They'd both shit on JRPG's almost every time and I'd shrug and still play them, lol.

dirkdady2981d ago

Actually if Adam did a mock review for Sony it could have heavily influenced aspects of the game.

Mock review for those that don't know is when a publisher hires a game critic to do a mock review for internal use/feedback only. It gives them a sense for how it will review upon release.

TheUndertaker852981d ago

@dirkdady: For them to want a mock review they'd had to have doubts with the product. Further for them to change aspects of the game comes down to Sony & Sony Santa Monica. They wouldn't do so unless they thought the feedback was valid.

Even still Sony & Sony Santa Monica would be involved in a green light. Not Sessler, again.

rainslacker2981d ago

Huh? Only thing I recall getting changed because of him was the name of a trophy.

Hardly something that would ruin the game as a whole. They didn't even remove the trophy....just renamed it.

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Pantz2982d ago

Hope they are together at E3 again. It warms my heart.

TheOttomatic912982d ago

I've never been a personal fan of Adam Sessler but hearing his insights about game industry (or specifically in being a gaming journalist) is quite interesting.

medman2982d ago

X-play and Aots all day every day.

fenome2982d ago

I used to watch both those shows all the freaking time. I lost a lot of respect for Sessler after some of his ridiculous rants though. God Of War was the first wtf seriously moment, and then the whole backing out of the industry because of the share button thing was just the icing on the cake.

OoglyBoogly2982d ago

His review of Bioshock Infinite did it for me. He talked about that mediocre game play experience like it was the greatest game he had ever played. Didn't make sense to me honestly.

TheUndertaker852982d ago

@OoglyBoogly: Yes, god forbid someone enjoys Bioshock while you don't.

fenome2982d ago

He literally just started contradicting himself and having little meltdowns toward the end, it would almost be funny if it wasn't kind of sad. Like I said, I used to watch X-Play all the time back in the day.

I'd post links just to show you what I'm talking about but my phone is ghetto and it's not worth the effort. Just look it up, it's not hard to find, he started slipping bad.

rainslacker2981d ago (Edited 2981d ago )

I lost complete respect for him the day he was at some E3 post conference show completely drunk off his ass, barely coherent, and just cynical as all hell. Claimed he had a cold, and was on cold medicine, even though he was fine early that day, and the next day seemed like he was not sick at all.

I've only enjoyed about half of the content he ever was a part of, and I did enjoy when he did interviews, because he was always fair, and even pushed hard on some questions at times, but his reviews either seemed shilled or extremely biased.

After that though he just started thinking his own opinion on how the industry should behave made him intolerable. Particularly his rant about not getting free stuff from the console markers. It's like the guy went off his meds, and all you ended up seeing what the bat-sh*t crazy side that just makes you uncomfortable to watch or be around.

+ Show (1) more replyLast reply 2981d ago
Segata2982d ago

Aos was trash. Screen Savers was better. Extended Play stomps X-plays crappy skits with interns and lame jokes.

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320°

Former PlayStation Boss Says $80 Games Are Amazingly Affordable

PlayStation boss believes that $80 games are affordable due to the value they provide. Using Mario Kart as an example, he noted that it offers numerous hours of gameplay with just one purchase.

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tech4gamers.com
jambola1d 17h ago

value inside the product does not have any impact on how afforable they are

Eonjay23h ago

He never said anything about affordability at all. He only commented about the perceived value that a game can have to a player that gets many hours out of it.

Again, as with many other forms of we are disrespected and lied to.

Title says Yoshida said $80 games are amazingly affordable. This is a lie.

CrimsonWing6923h ago

Perceived value is subjective, so how do you even argue for it? If one person says $500 was worth it because they played a game for six months, what does that mean to someone who didn’t share that experience or see that value?

This is exactly where corporate thinking falls apart. The value is defined by them, and then they twist the logic to defend it from a purely internal, out-of-touch perspective.

I’ve never based the price of a game on how long I’ve played it. There’s a standard price range that consumers feel is fair. If it were truly based on time or value, Resident Evil 2 Remake would cost $20, and Final Fantasy VII Rebirth would be $1,000.

Eonjay21h ago

@Crimson

"Perceived value is subjective, so how do you even argue for it?Perceived value is subjective, so how do you even argue for it?"

I think his point is that it is subjective.

thorstein19h ago

Why is tech4gamers allowed to publish here. The lying is constant with them.

FACTUAL evidence4h ago

Honestly, expedition 33 is a prime example of quality for the low. Expedition 33 launched at 50$, and that game gave me more fun than most 60-70$ games I’ve purchased within the last decade.

8831h ago(Edited 1h ago)

Clearly, they want to increase prices. They need to convince people that it’s not so bad. As long as they can do that, they can do whatever they want. You gave an outstanding example of the direction things could go if creators were focused primarily on The community and quality. If that example or a few others like it didn’t exist, it might be hard to convey to many how it is even possible.

pwnmaster30001d 17h ago

I get the concept.
People buy movies for $20-$30 dollars that offers only a couple of hours of enjoyment.
While games offers 3-10+ times the amount of hours and content.
So in theory yeah I get it.

But I will never accept it and would rather keep the price now or even better PS360 price lol

isarai1d 15h ago

On the surface ye that makes sense, but when you realize the budgets are very comparable, you realize it's kinda stupid and overpriced especially when it common for it to be released unfinished

Extermin8or3_18h ago

Not really, movies that have similar budgets have the box office where if they arent a flop- they typically make all their money back or a profit. Movies have a much wider audience. Games however just have that release and have a smaller market.

PapaBop17h ago

Are many people buying movies for $20-$30? Outside of the more dedicated movie goers who have a physical collection, I imagine most rather scoff at that and stick to things like Netflix instead.

DivineHand12517h ago

You also have to take into consideration that most games are enjoyed by one or two people, while movies can be enjoyed by a group of people who are either friends or family.

Another thing is that the value of an entertainment product cannot be judged based on its length, but how it makes the user feel when it is all done.
An example of this is Ubisoft games. They can last close to or exceed 100 hours, yet many people hate on them for doing things to pad the length of the game, while Uncharted 4 and other Naughty Dog games average about 15 hours in length and are hailed as some of the best games of all time.

gold_drake1d 5h ago

said by the guy who probably had a high 6 figure income

Eonjay14h ago

He never made the comment. Welcome to the internet.

gold_drake14h ago

..have u watched the video at all?

welcome to the internet indeed.

Petebloodyonion1d ago

The value of an $80 all-you-can-eat buffet is undeniable, making it curious why some people choose a $20 restaurant for a single, standard meal.

In a similar vein, movies, despite their higher production costs for a two-hour experience, outperform video games in revenue while also being priced around $20. Suggesting that video games need 100 hours of diluted gameplay to compete seems like a misdirection. The real solution might lie in re-evaluating how their core offering is valued.

Extermin8or3_18h ago

Individual movies yes, the movie industry as a whole? No, the movie industry is dwarfed by the behemoth in terms of revenue that gaming is.

DoubleYourDose10h ago

The $80 buffet and the $20 meal both come out the same end.

FACTUAL evidence1d ago

Lol so rich people want to speak for my wallet now? I still haven’t adapted to 70$ yet, and not planing on to. I don’t mind waiting on sales.

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140°

Square Enix is “aware” of Final Fantasy XIV player numbers dropping

Square Enix president Takashi Kiryu discusses the dropping player count of Final Fantasy XIV and the numerous projects of YoshiP.

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videogamer.com
jznrpg2d ago

It’s really old now. All great MMOs decline.

PRIMORDUS2d ago

Also who wants to keep paying a monthly fee every month, there are other options like Guild Wars 2 😁with no monthly fee and while not that many people overall compared to FF XIV, it did increase to about 21 mil now.

Sephiroushin2d ago (Edited 2d ago )

I prefer to pay since i do not like guild wars and it keep kids away, but FF14 decreased on quality since they started to make it "more accessible", tried throne and liberty and while it was okay it has so many issues, same for dune awakening... Its time to start making a new FF MMO

kaewcha7342d ago

Looks like Square Enix is self-aware but still stuck in place, they see the player drop and apologize for the bugs, but nothing really changes. Shame, FFXIV used to be the gold standard

Servbot412d ago

My entire free company has stopped playing. The writing has consistently gotten worse and the content is sparse and lacking; unless you are a hardcore player there's very little for you to do. They are over-catering to the people who will grind three+ times a week on a single fight for multiple months when the playerbase by large doesn't want that sort of content. Square needs to dedicate more resources to the game instead of wasting them on mobile and other live service slop.

Miraak82 2d ago

The biggest factor for me is the way they butchered job design over the years , the casualization and over simplification really hurt a good chunk of enjoyment I used to have . Jobs lost any form of complexity and just became " press glowing button" DDR style for fighting where the gameplay loop is a about the 2 minute burst window . They removed most DoTS, timer mechanics , cast times, pets, RNG ect and all around homogenized everything . When you try and can cater to everyone ... you cater to no one .

60°

Dune: Awakening Composer Talks Giving Arrakis a Voice

Game Rant interviews Dune: Awakening composer Knut Avenstroup Haugen about his process for giving the harsh deserts of Arrakis a musical voice.

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gamerant.com